Advances in computing technology today have provided various options for business entities when it comes to conducting business and making business decisions. Various software and hardware solutions today are used by businesses to conduct various aspects of business, including manufacturing, inventory management, marketing, sales and human resources management. Various data indicators are used to forecast business conditions overcome competition and operate efficiently.
Availability of critical information at all times and everywhere is important for a business entity's (or “enterprise”) success. It is not only important to measure performance metrics but strategic growth drivers as well. Establishing a balanced view throughout an enterprise is very critical to short term performance and long-term growth.
Traditional boundaries today are disappearing in businesses. More and more businesses are operating across time zones, business lines and marketing segments. In addition to serving multiple market segments, enterprises are employing advanced production and inventory control systems, and outsourcing non-critical functions.
Management emphasis is on improving productivity, which results in increased stockholder value. Enterprises are relying on various specialized business function software like “Supply Chain,” ERP, CRM, Sales automation etc., to provide value to customers.
Most businesses have a combination of legacy and newer business applications, including software and hardware systems. They are also likely to have multiple and/or dissimilar applications performing similar functions. During mergers and acquisitions of businesses, it is common for companies to inherit a number of systems. Depending on the company these may or may not be integrated. Successful integration typically depends on the organization of strategic objectives and the extent to which processes logically match up to these objectives. Such coordinated integration leads to strategic advantage, e.g., opportunities to share marketing, sales, production, procurement and R&D information.
Information availability and distribution is a major factor in the success of organizations. Since businesses have a number of applications that are critical, availability of information from those systems are also critical to the success of the organization as a whole. Because sources of information can be from different arenas, generating a collective information pool is a problem. Information may be available in many different formats: namely paper, spreadsheet, online/offline document, proprietary applications etc. Information may also be collected from disparate sources that may be incompatible. Further, the problem is compounded in delivering relevant data to the correct audience. Also, the needs for specific information vary from consumer to consumer, in content and delivery techniques.
With all the options available today, in hardware and/or software, what is still lacking is a comprehensive and scalable system that allows business entities to collect and analyze meaningful data. Therefore, there is a need for a system that allows collection of data from various sources and the means to filter the collected data based upon user choices.